My Step(ford) Children. Supposed to be light hearted but getting less so as the days wear off

SUSPICION V GULLIBILITY

22 March

What has been going on whilst Quark has been in the house entirely alone is open to speculation. Why the large wooden cupboard in the hall? Electron thinks it may be there as a blockade to the front door. Why the incessant unanswered phone calls, drug debt demands?

But to Proton this is all perfectly understandable. Apparently Quark stated the cupboard is for his new place when he moves out (hilarious). Later he said that it was a project he was going to do up for Charm (who also does not have her own place). Proton also believes that Quark did not answer the phone because he wanted to answer it in private (but why?). Who was calling so urgently?

2 weeks pass by, both Proton and Electron have been felled by a vicious virus. It gets so bad for Proton that she needs to collect her ventilator from her house. Again she phones to warn Quark that she may be coming over. She believes he sounds together. After a few hours she phones again and is informed that the ventilator is nowhere to be found.

“How do you know that? It is in my bedroom and that is padlocked closed.” “Ah”, replies Quark, “I had to break in on my birthday.”

(Quark regularly does this in order to steal from her stash of cigarettes, £200 pounds worth last time before said stash was rescued to the shed. She also has a rucksack full of painkillers that have been prescribed over the years. Naively Proton believes these drugs hold no interest to Quark as they are past there use by date).

As ever Quark is ready with a reason for breaking in…. “I had a friend around on my birthday and he brought a friend with him who swore was okay.” “And………?” prompts Proton. “And it got a bit out of hand and his friend punched me in the face. I had not put all the phones back in their chargers so when I wanted to use them they didn’t work. So I had to use the one in your room.”

“Oh god, why did he hit you?” asks Proton already distracted, “At least you are okay. So you cannot find my ventilator?”The interrogation now totally abandoned. “No its definitely not here.” “Okay, thanks Quark, love you, bye.” “Sounds to me that Quark definitely does not want you to see what’s going on in your house, ” says Electron.